In 2006, the OECD and Russian Federation held a joint workshop in Moscow, Russian Federation, on "Biosecurity of microbial biological resources – complementing innovation". 85 participants from 15 countries came together to discuss the difficult policy challenge of securing dangerous pathogens without compromising the potential benefits of biomedical research for society. The workshop succeeded in raising awareness among key stakeholders from Ministries of Foreign affairs, Health and Security, Industry, Academia and Civil society that biosecurity is a topic distinct from biosafety and builds on it.

In the Chairman's summary, participants concluded that the OECD should take forward work to foster international cooperation by developing best practice on risk analysis frameworks for biosecurity with broad participation from relevant stakeholders. For further information, please contact us on : stibiotech@oecd.org